The Michigan Daily-Saturday, May 30, 1981-Page 11
BI-PAR TISANAPPROACH TO AVOID SUPREME COURT ACTION
State to discuss redistricting plan
LANSING (UPI)-Members of the
state Legislative Apportionment Com-
mission begin work Monday to come
up with a bi-partisan redistricting plan
in order to avoid throwing the issue to a
hostile Michigan Supreme Court.
Aiding the eight-member group this
year is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
allowing apportionment commissions
to take "partisan political differences"
into account when drawing up districts.
THIS COULD mean an end to
meetings filled with complaints about
gerrymandering.
"For the first time, we can deal with Detroit-area seats, said his party will
it openly and not go through the hang onto its legislative majority.
charades," said Republican co- The apportionment commission is
chairman Richard Sanderson. composed of four members from each
But Sanderson and his Democratic party. It has 180 days from Monday to
counterpart, Robert Kleiner, naturally come up with a new map of the 110
disagree on what the new district map House seats and 38 Senate seats based
will look like. on 1980 census figures.
SANDERSON predicted population EACH PARTY has been busy
shifts from the cities to the suburbs and drawing up proposals using
rural areas will lead Republicans to sophisticated, computer techniques and
control of the House and Senate in next old-fashioned political know-how. The
year's elections. panel must then choose between them
Kleiner. while conceeding losses of or hash out a compromise.
In theory, the plan getting the most
votes wins.
But in 1971, the group deadlocked
along partisan lines, so both parties
sent plans to the Michigan Supreme
Court. The high court voted 4-3 in favor
of a proposal drawn up by Kleiner and
Lillian Hatcher, a Detroit Democrat.
THIS YEAR, however, com-
missioners want to avoid going before
the court if at all possible. The reason is
that three justices-Republican Chief
Justice Mary Coleman, independent
Justice Charles Levin and Democratic
Justice Thomas Kavanagh-may count
themselves out of the process, leaving a
potential 2-2 tie among the remaining
Republicans and Democrats.
High court spokesman Roger Lane
would not predict what the court would
do in the case of a commission
deadlock.
But he said opinions during the 1970s
written by the three justices indicated
they feel Michigan's apportionment law
is nullified by the 1964 U.S. Supreme
Court decision requiring districts to be
drawn up on a "one man-one vote"
basis.
"PREVIOUS opinions are the most
formal expression you can get from a
judge," Lane said.
In order to avoid tangling with the
court, Kleiner said he and Sanderson
have agreen to aim for a bipartisan
compromise.
"We both agree that Gaffney gives us
an opportunity to reach a partisan
political compromise," said Kleiner, a
Grand Rapids attorney who was
described by one observer as "having
been around Michigan politics since the
Bible days."
"Of course, we're going to have to
hassle around a lot in bargaining and
trying to resolve what is a fair share."
He predicted "a lot of head knocking"
over whether to use cumulative results
from 1980 legislative races across
Michigan or from a single statewide
race in divying up districts among
Democrats and Republicans.
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MALE MARINES TAKE HAND-TO-HAND COURSE:
Combat training revived
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - After
a five-year absence, hand-to-hand
combat training is back in the basic
training course for Marine Corps
recruits.
The two-hour course in how to kill
barehanded is now taught to all male
Marines, says Capt. Jasper Rogers,
director of the special training division
at the Parris Island boot camp. He said
it is a supplement to advanced bayonet
training.
"THIS IS one of the things young men -
join the Marine Corps for," Rogers said
in a recent interview. "It teaches them
self-confidence and motivation."
"There will always be physical con-
tact with the enemy," added Staff Sgt.
Leon H-ardin, one of two instructors
resurrecting the training.
"We don't teach martial arts," Har-
din said. "In martial arts you fight by
rules and regulations. In hand-to-hand
combat there are no rules and
regulations."
THE COURSE was imported to
Parris Island after a six-day trial at the
Corps' boot camp in San Diego.
Hardin said drill instructors are lear-
ning the techniques along with the
recruits. Eventually Rogers hopes to
offer such training in drill instructors
school.
"In two hours you can't really teach a
man how to fight," Hardin said. "This
is not something where a fellow will be
able to leave that afternoon and go
clean out the local bar."
THE COURSE takes place in the final
days of recruit training. Hardin's
st4cents learn which blows to the head
and neck are lethal. They practice the
right way to break a fall while protec-
ting neck, ribs, and groin from an op-
ponent's blow, three different throws,
and "the Marine Corps ripple," a
technique developed by Hardin and
Bryant.
The ripple is a combination of pun-
ches to the lower ribs followed by a
throw and blows to the arm and groin
designed, as Hardin put it, "to destroy
the enemy's will to fight."
Maj. Fred Peck, a spokesman at the
Marine Corps headquarters, said he
didn't know why the training was
discontinued. A longer hand-to-hand
course apparently fell by the wayside
when recruit training was cut from 11
weeks to 10 in 1976 by then-
Commandant Gen. Louis Wilson, Peck
said.